* Press release…

Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced that Executive Inspector General Maggie Hickey will leave the administration in March to pursue an opportunity in the private sector. She will join Schiff Hardin, a general practice law firm representing clients across the country and around the world.

“Inspector General Hickey has served the residents of Illinois with integrity and enhanced the accountability of agencies under her jurisdiction,” said Gov. Rauner. “For the past three years, state employees and the public could count on Maggie for timely and thorough investigations. Her objectivity and fairness can be a model for public servants. I wish her the very best in her next endeavor.”

Hickey oversaw a number of successful programs including the Governor’s Illinois Health Care Fraud Elimination Task Force, which saved the State more than $450 million in fraudulent or wasteful spending in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. She also led the creation of the Division of Hiring and Employment Monitoring (HEM) to ensure that State agency hiring decisions are compliant with governing authority.

Prior to joining the administration in 2015, Hickey worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois for ten years and also served as chief of staff to Republican U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois.

The executive inspector general investigates misconduct complaints against the executive branch, multiple state agencies and more than 300 boards and commissions. A replacement will be announced closer to Hickey’s mid-March departure date.

Not mentioned is her stinging report on DCFS.